| Abstract: | The activity of the enzyme uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase was determined in the liver and the kidneys of C57BL/6 mice and Wistar albino rats with chronic hexachlorobenzene intoxication and the amount of the deposited uroporphyrin was measured in the both organs. In the control animals the activity of hepatic uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase was several times higher than the renal one. The administration of hexachlorobenzene led to an inhibition of the enzyme activity, which was equally expressed (about 2.5 times) in the liver and kidneys of the both species. The accumulation of uroporphyrin was more pronounced in the hepatic tissue than in the kidneys (about 9 times in mice and 5 times in rats on average). Taking into consideration the much higher uroporphyrin accumulation in the liver, the more active haem biosynthesis in this organ, as well as its larger size, one could accept that the predominant part of the urinary porphyrins in hexachlorobenzene porphyria has a hepatic and not a renal origin. |
